Welcome to my blog, in this space I will share recipes, cooking tips, pantry ideas, kitchen gadget must haves and much more...I am making it a goal to become a better cook and hopefully can help my followers see cooking is not as hard as you think... no I am not Julia just Julie...... Stay tuned to The Year of the Cook!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

MARINADED BAKED CHICKEN

Let's face it...we can ALL make dried out chicken..that's easy...but to keep chicken moist during baking takes a little finesse. It's all in the marinade and the basting. The marinade I make is similar to a brining method where the chicken soaks for an hour or two (even longer if you have time). However, don't rinse your marinade off as you would brining mixtures.

To my BFF from NY - these ingredients should ALWAYS be on hand in your pantry and refrigerator!!!!!!!!

This is such an easy dish to make for two people. You can marinade it in the morning and just throw it in the oven when you get home from work. It needs very little maintenance while cooking and you can make a side dish during that time.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Ingredients:

2 bone-in chicken breasts

3 tbl olive oil

2 tbl balsamic vinegar

5 cranks of a pepper mill

1 tbl Herbs de Provence

1 tbl lemon juice

1 tbl orange juice

2 tbl soy sauce

1/4 cup white wine

1 tbl dijon mustard

dash of worcestershire sauce

dash of cayenne pepper (optional for spice)

Mix all the ingredients except the chicken in a large ziploc storage bag. Zip it shut and mix the bag with your hands so all ingredients are incorporated. Open the bag and add the chicken. Close the bag and put it in a shallow bowl making sure the chicken is skin side down and mostly covered with marinade.

Refrigerate all day but at least an hour. Transfer the chicken (skin side down for the first half hour then turn over for remainng 1/2 hour) and marinade to a small pyrex baking dish and bake in your preheated oven for an hour...basting periodically. It will be juicy every time.

For side dishes, I serve either corn on the cob, baked potatoes (these can bake in the oven right alongside the chicken, mixed vegetables or rice.....all of which take no longer to prepare than the chicken cooks.